“You want to know what your Father’s Day present is?”

“Umm… do you want to tell me?”

“When we go on vacation to Virginia later this month, we want you to take a whole day to go fishing.”

“That is a great present.”

“I was going to surprise you, but I thought you’d have more fun if you got to plan it all out.”

“Yeah, that and I need to pack the right gear… That is great; thank you!”

What followed was something of a mental flowchart. Laying in bed, the options and the alternatives and the pros and the cons all ran through my head. I get to fish a lot. Getting an entire day to fish is still a treat, though. Having the opportunity in the Mid Atlantic, my fly fishing home waters, is extra special. Usually I do fish when we go down to visit family. A morning in the mountains for brook trout. An after dinner session with the kids on the suburban retention ponds.

But a whole day? This is a good thing (and a great gift). And she was right: part of the fun has already been planning it out. So how does one go about choosing when there are so many choices, so many favorites, so many unexplored waters?

• Where am I licensed? Pennsylvania and Maryland are wonderful, but their non-resident fishing license fees are steep. And while Virginia’s isn’t that cheap, it runs on a 12-month cycle from the date of purchase. A quick peek in my saved emails shows me that I’m legal until the end of July. Perfect.
• What don’t I have up here? I shouldn’t (and won’t) complain about any fishing. But it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for me to drive a ways on vacation to fish for schoolie stripers when I have them less than 10 miles from my doorstep at home. The equation gets a little harder with brook trout. Because while I can get into countless mountain trout in New Hampshire and Maine, those waters have yet to develop the same nostalgic pull as the Shenandoah creeks. (More on that in a moment.) Smallmouth are an alluring quarry. I have them here, but not like the easily accessible river bass of Virginia.
• Where do I miss fishing? Some trout streams in the Blue Ridge are like old friends. I might be able to catch more or bigger brook trout in countless other places here and there, but fishing isn’t just about catching fish. Where matters just as much as what.
• What else will I be doing? Maybe this sounds like my priorities are out of whack, but there are other things I’ve considered aside from the river and the fish. Like, can I get some good barbeque? Will the drive be pretty? If barbeque isn’t until late afternoon, will there be a Sheetz close to where I start so I can stay satiated with a 32 ounce coffee and a greasy breakfast sandwich?

These are the questions I ask. I’m sure that you have similar paths you travel in your head as you plan your fly fishing outings. If anything, it shows how fishing isn’t and shouldn’t be pragmatic and utilitarian as what river is closest and which fish will bite easiest.

Driving past good streams to fish where you want to fish (or eat smoked meat where you want to eat smoked meat) is the prerogative of the fly fisher. Being able to plan and execute that kind of fishing is a gift itself.